Authorities identify skydiver who died after accidental landing in Lake Butte des Morts

Jul. 9, 2013

An Omro skydiving instructor died Tuesday after he and a student were blown off course and landed in Lake Butte des Morts.

Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz said the instructor and student went out for a tandem jump before the onset of severe weather, which blew them away from their landing site and over the lake after the 10,000-foot jump from their airplane.

The Sheriff’s Department dive team searched throughout the afternoon for the missing skydiver. The department recovered the skydiver’s body at 5:23 p.m. Authorities were withholding the skydiver’s name late Tuesday pending notification of the family.

Authorities initially responded at 12:35 p.m. to a call from residence on Highland Shore Lane on the south shore of the lake reporting a kayaker had flipped and was in the water. When they arrived, they found the skydiving student, who had swum to shore for help, and learned that what was thought to be a kayak was the parachute.

The family that owns the home where the student swam to shore offered their boat for first responders to take out and look for the skydiving instructor.

When the authorities weren’t familiar with how to work the boat, the family’s 15-year-old daughter, Rachel Gardner, immediately jumped in and drove emergency responders out on the water to search for the missing person.

She said her adrenaline kicked in and she felt the need to help.

“I knew there was somebody out there so we just had to quickly go and help them out, “ Gardner said. “So I just jumped in the water and got in the boat.”

They found the parachute and a pair of shoes that had been worn by the student.

Authorities marked the locations of the shoes and parachute with bouoys. An aerial search by the ThedaStar helicopter and the skydiving company’s plane assisted in pin-pointing the area to search.

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department dive team began searching the lake about 1 p.m.

By 3 p.m., Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz acknowledged there was little chance the missing skydiver survived and said divers were focused on a body-recovery effort until dusk.

Matz said radar was being used in the recovery efforts and the area being searched is about one-fourth of a mile offshore, and approximately 6-feet deep, with a visibility of about 1-foot. He added that water clarity and temperature would effect the search.

The student involved in the tandem skydive was not hurt, Matz said.

The skydiving company, Para-NAUT Inc., also known as Skydive Adventure, declined to comment when contacted by the Northwestern.